A Christian Nation?

“Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation.”

So, what do you think of that statement? Is it true? False? Can you see elements that go both ways? Not only that, what do you think it should be, NOT, what do you want it to be? There IS a difference.

Please read the entire post before making a decision.

In a world of no prayer in schools, holiday trees rather than Christmas trees, bending over backwards to not disturb any non-Christians, no Christmas carols allowed in "Winter Concerts" and a debate about removing "In God We Trust" as a motto; with so-called Christians murdering people, stealing, cheating, etc. how can we truly say we are a Christian nation? It's a sad thing to admit, but it's getting harder and harder to claim that "the nation" as an organization represents my faith.

In a melting pot, a culture of many nations and many religions, and those without religion at all, what is the proper way for our country to be? Again, I'm not asking what your religious affiliation is... unless you feel that no one else has a right to feel differently than you. Then, I suppose it might be relevant.

What about this statement? "Given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."

If you disagreed with the first statement, is this easier to agree with? Indeed, can you even really disagree?

I purposely did not identify who said this, though I'm about to. I wanted you to first read it and consider it. Do not put political layers on top of it and say "yeah" or "nay" based on whether or not you like the person that said it. This is especially true if the only reason you dislike the person is because of party affiliation so it really would not matter what was said, only which party's person said it. In other words, a sheep, not someone with a brain.

This all came about because I read an article about Mitt Romney being critical of Barack Obama's remark. However, he used the first quote, the one at the top of the page that left out the word, "just" and somehow forgot to mention the rest of it as well. (Could we pretend he wasn't trying to twist the truth and start problems? We could, but I'm not.) The omission of the word "just" changes the meaning. However, when I read the statement, I still agreed with it, even though I saw both sides. But when I saw the actual quote, then of course I agreed.

The second quote was in the printed (prepared) remarks for a keynote address to a "Call to Renewal" conference sponsored by the Christian magazine, Sojourners on June 28, 2006, before the presidential election.  It is a call for unity, and warns of the dangers of division by religious differences. When he presented it, he stumbled a bit and said, "Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation – at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."  Obviously, while not word for word to his prepared speech, the meaning is completely the same.

Where do we go from here? I think we DO need to acknowledge the changing face of the country. Just today, I read that according to the latest Census, minorities (combined) make up the majority of the population under age one.  This impacts religion as well.  I'm disappointed that this statement from six years ago is being twisted into something different. It speaks volumes about the person doing so.


this video of his speech, posted on YouTube by the Obama campaign.